SHINE ON
by rolly21
Summary: THIS IS THE SEQUEL TO " A SHADOW OF YOU" I HOPE THIS ANSWERS ALL OF YOUR QUESTIONS AND I DO THIS JUSTICE... WILL TRY TO UPDATE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK CHEERS
1. Chapter 1

**SO FINALLY... THIS IS THE MUCH ANTICIPATED SEQUEL TO "A SHADOW OF YOU" I HOPE I DID THIS JUSTICE**

**disclaimer: i do not own the show, but i think even if i did i would entertain myself with writing little fics just for you hehe**

**"Shine On" by Rascal Flatts**

I was lost in darkness and sinking sand  
Well I was barely nothing, a broken man  
But you picked up the pieces of my heart in your hand  
Then you came and showed to me love's second chance

Shine on, shine on, shine on me  
Whenever something's missing  
You're exactly what I need  
Your love has shown me the light and now I finally see  
So shine on, shine on, shine on me, yeah

Lord knows that I'm not perfect but I sure do try  
And I see the man that I can be in your eyes  
Well there are times I still get lost in yesterday  
But you put the past behind me and you light my way

Shine on, shine on, shine on me  
Whenever something's missing  
You're exactly what I need  
Your love has shown me the light and now I finally see  
So shine on, shine on, shine on me, yeah

Shine on (let your love shine)  
Shine on (on me)  
Shine all your love on me, yeah  
(Your love on me)  
Shine all your love on me, yeah

Shine on, shine on, shine on me  
Whenever something's missing  
You're exactly what I need  
Your love has shown me the light and now I finally see  
So shine on, shine on, shine on me, yeah

Shine on, shine on, shine on me  
Won't you keep on shining, yeah  
Won't you keep on shining your love  
Down on me, baby  
Won`t you keep on shining, yeah  
Won`t you keep on shining your love  
Yeah, you're exactly what I need, baby  
Yeah, you are  
  
If there were ever a moment that Derek Shepherd prayed, this would be one of those moments. He had no idea how he had managed to sit through the surgery, watching his sister work on his fiancé in a way that he never thought would be needed.

She had worked meticulously, her eyes staying completely focused, and her head in the zone. He knew that she was good. He had seen her operate a thousand times before, but this time had been different, and they both had known.

Derek looked up at the Statue of Jesus Christ that stood in the centre of the church. His eyes seeing it, but also not, in a way that he had never considered before. He had never contemplated returning to the church, or even returning to his faith. From the moment he had heard of his fathers death, he had hated god, and everything his church had represented, and now, to be standing in one again, praying to God that he will be forgiven and that Meredith and their child would come through this strongly, he found in himself, a forgotten strength.

He moved away from the aisle, and took up position in a pew, just thinking that if he sits a moment, and lets the world stop, that maybe everything that was happening would just stop, and fall back into place.

He had no idea how long he had already been here. He knew that he had been there from the moment his sister had announced that it was time to close. At that stage the heart monitor was beeping softly, as was the foetal monitor that had been watched under the careful eyes of Addison. Still though, time had drifted slowly, and he knew that he just needed to sit. He needed to sit and pray, and hope that God would not rip away another thing that he had loved so much. He needed to know that this was not going to be another way for God to punish him for whatever sins he may have committed in the past. He need to know that they would live. That the child that he had conceived with the love of his life would remain safe in his fiancé's womb and that she too would stay safe, her heart beating, fixed in a way that couldn't be described.

He knew that if everything went well and that if Meredith pulled through that he would be quick to rush her down the aisle wanting to make sure that he could call her his wife, not wanting anything more than that for the moment, but also he knew that there would be no thanks he could give that would be suffice to his sister for saving his world, his family, his life.

Bowing his head, he closed his eyes, and cupped his hands as he began to pray.


	2. Chapter 2

Erin stood at the back of the church. Her eyes resting nervously on her brother. She could see how worn out he was. Knew how much this had impacted him, but most of all, she knew how long it had been since he had stepped foot in a church, and therefore, that knowledge alone said it all.

She took a small step toward him. She was hesitant, and she hated that. She knew that what she had to tell him was vital, that he, just like Richard and her brothers, needed to be updated on Merediths status.

Trying to relax, and forget that this was not another patient's family, but her family too, that this was her brother, and the person she had operated on was her future sister in law, she forced herself to take a step towards him. And as her one foot moved in front of the other, and began to shuffle, she staggered forward, knowing that she needed to do this, and remember how important this news was to him.

As she neared him she could hear him murmuring, and noticed that his hands were clasped in prayer, and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

_"while i know it is wrong to threaten, and while i know my faith has not stayed storng, you must remember that it was you who first caused it to pull back." _she heard hims say _"and if you are to take her too, if you are to take her, or our baby, im not sure that i could forgive you, im not sure that i could enter a church like this again. So if you can hear me god, and i pray that you hear me, you will save her, you will save them both, because my life wont be worth living without them, my life wont be."_

Erin couldn't help but shudder at the strength of his words, and yet knew that it definitely was not an empty threat. This was a threat that he intended to keep.

"Derek" she finally spoke as she moved to rest her hand upon his shoulder, pulling him away from his prayer, only moments after saying his amen.

He looks up at her hesitantly, his eyes now searching hers, and she felt as if she was being put under the microscope.

"She's back in her room." She informs him. "The babies okay, and so is Mer. She was touch and go, but she's stable now. Both are stable if you want to go see her."

Derek continues to look up at her, and she sees the relief wash over him. A relief that she couldn't quite imagine. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to have her husband upon the table. To have his heart cut open while she watched on.

"You should go be with her." She urges as she steps back letting him rise up from his knees.

She reaches up and wipes his tears from his cheeks. "Mom and the girls are here. They are waiting to see you, but go to Meredith. They'll understand." She promises.

Derek smiles slightly, grateful to her for everything that she has done for him.

"Go." She murmurs, watching as he finally gathers the strength to walk out of the church. As the door closes she turns back to look at the cross looming in front of her.

"Thank you God." She murmured before touching the small cross that was on her necklace.


	3. Chapter 3

He approached the room at a run. A run that had started from the moment he had closed the church door. His heart was racing with the need to see her. The need to touch her. The need to hold her.

When he arrived he could see Alex sitting by her bed, his hand holding hers tightly. He could hear him talking to her, it was more of a whisper, but he was only catching bits and pieces.

On seeing the small tears trickling down Alex's face, he felt like he was invading, and hated the thought that maybe he should knock, or leave for a moment . He thought about going to see his mother and sisters, but he figured that Erin would be with them now.

Deciding to knock, he taps gently on the door.

He watches as Alex is quick to wipe away the tears before turning to face him. "Can i come in?" he asks, not wanting to invade on what was probably a rare moment.

"Sure" Alex chokes. "She'd want you here."

Derek nods as he then moves into the room, moving to the opposite side of Meredith, taking her free hand. His other hand moving to rest on her stomach.

Silence fills the room, as both men just sit in a quiet vigil. Their thoughts being their silent conversations with Meredith.

Moments passed of Derek rubbing Merediths stomach, and kissing Merediths cheek. Moving to whisper reassuring words in her ear. Letting her know that he was there and that he wasn't going to go anywhere.

Alex sat watching, now the one feeling as if he was violating Derek with his presence.

On feeling Alex's eyes on him he draws back, his hand still on Merediths stomach. "Oh ummm..." he starts, not sure what to say to his future brother in law. "Where are the others?" he finally asks.

"Dads updating mom, Richie is getting food and Mark is in surgery." Alex informs him.

"Marks in surgery??" Derek asked in shock.

Alex nodded. "its a distraction, but its also needed."

Derek looks at him confused, not sure what to say to that.

"Its a little girl who has severe burns." Alex tells him after noting his confusion.

Derek slowly nods, but still cant process how Mark could possibly be operating on a child just moments after his sister has come out of surgery.

"You don't get it." Alex tells him, following his train of thought. "You don't get what its been like for us. Its not the first time we've had to wait for her to wake up, and it wont be the last."

Derek tilted his head slightly considering his words. "True." He says quietly. "And i don't know how you do it" he added. "i.... i don't know what i would do if i lost her. I don't think i could live without her."

"I don't even think about that." Alex responded. "I can't imagine a world without her in it, and i don't even want to try." He struggles.

Derek nods as the silence over takes them again, and their vigil continues.


	4. Chapter 4

She could hear them talking, whispering quietly. There was more than one voice though, and if she paid close attention the she could be almost sure that there was roughly 5 voices, 2 of them being women.

Their voices hissed and slurred as consciousness came and went, but as she tried to fight, she felt her chest tighten, and she began to gag.

"Shit" Derek swore on hearing Meredith gag, and went to her, quickly pressing the button to lift her bed.

"Step back Derek." Erin instructed as she moved forward.

"Dont fight it Meredith. You're intubated. You are going to experience some discomfort as we remove the tube." She informs her as she begins the process.

Nerves filled the room, as they all waited for the tube to be removed, waiting to see if Meredith would wake when it was removed.

"You're okay." Derek murmured as he ran a hand over her head. "I'm here babe, im here."

Once the tube was removed, Erin stood back.

Everyone watched, all eyes on Meredith as she slowly lifted a hand up, rubbed her eyes and then let it fall down to her stomach.

The excitement that she was waking slowly began to fade as it seemed as though she was going to remain sleeping.

'W...water.' she finally muttered causing everyone to move frantically to get some for of ice chips or water.

"Ice chips Derek, give her an ice chip." Erin instructs and Derek steps forward to place one in Meredith's mouth.

Everyone waits a moment as Meredith slowly opens her eyes and looks around the room.

She watches them closely, hoping that their facial expressions would reveal to her how the surgery went.

Erin waits for her to wake fully, before moving in to examine her and recording her stats. Everyone remains quiet as this happens. Finally Elizabeth Shepherd steps forward and grabs Merediths hand. "You're okay sweetie." She murmurs before leaning into kiss her forehead.

Meredith smiles gratefully, appreciating her affection but it wasn't what she wanted, and her eyes move past her to Derek.

"You're okay Mer, We're okay." He states as he squeezes her hand. "You almost got away from us but you're okay.'

Following his words she turns to look at Erin hoping that she could tell her exactly what she needed to hear.

"He's right you know, you really gave us a fright, but you pulled through Mer. You and the baby are fine, and we managed to fix our little problem." Erin confirmed. "You were touch and go there, and at one stage Addison thought she might have to abort your little one, but you managed to stay away from the light Meredith, and i thank god for that."

"i..." Meredith starts. "I thank you." She states before her teary eyes run over her stomach.

"He's still there." Derek murmurs.

"She" Meredith corrects causing Richie and Alex to chuckle, everyone just relieved that Meredith was awake.


	5. Chapter 5

It seemed like everyone had been in her room at one stage, whether it  
was to talk about their problems or to check in and see how she was  
doing.

It felt like she had been in here forever, but she knew that it had only  
really been 3 weeks.

Erin had stayed and monitored her, making sure that things were okay.  
While Addie kept fussing over the foetal monitor and making sure that  
the baby was still fighting strong.

Elizabeth Shepherd had rarely left her side after reassuring Derek that  
it was ok for him to return to work. Despite this he had been in and out  
the whole time even after he had completed his last operation on Ellis.

Ellis hadn't been down to see her. Richie had tried to make 1000 excuses  
why she hadn't been, so did Derek, much to her disgust.

Her father had been there most of the time. He had shifted his office  
into her room and pretty much worked from there. In a way he was worse  
than Erin and Addie. He always got up and checked her whenever there was  
a change in her heart rate. He followed her when she was getting tests  
done and only ever left her to go see Ellis or if he had to venture into  
the OR.

Alex and Mark would pop in and out during the day. They had brought her  
turtle in and she was giving him a bit of her food every now and then.

Despite all of this her thoughts kept wandering to the fact that her  
mother hadn't been back down. She had came past but never in, stating  
that she was extremely busy with everything. And that Derek had advised  
her to stay in bed. That was because there had been complications with  
the tumor removal on her spine, and they had not been too sure if there  
had been any damage done.

On being cleared Meredith had thought that she may have come down, but  
it seemed that she hadn't and she had to promise herself not to feel let  
down.

Now as her last night comes to a close, the last night of being confined  
to a hospital bed, as she was able to head home for another week off,  
she wondered how she was going to make up the time with her internship,  
and what kind of days she would be having while everyone else was at  
work.

Elizabeth had told her that she would be staying for another week to  
keep her company, and while Meredith had told her not to feel obligated,  
she was surprised when Elizabeth told her that there was no point  
arguing. It felt weird that she had been growing closer to dereks  
mother. As it was she had already spent more time with her these past 3  
weeks then what she had her own mother.

Letting out a small sigh, Meredith pushed back the covers of her bed and  
made her way towards the bathroom. She figured that she better go before  
she fell asleep as there was only so long that u could stay awake and  
bored, even if your fiance was going to be in later, she knew that she  
would succumb to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Ellis sat in the darkness, Derek sitting across from her. He had climbed  
off of Merediths hospital bed when she had entered the room

Ellis had her hand sitting on top of Merediths as she watched her  
daughter sleep. She knew Meredith had no knowledge of her late night  
visits, but they seemed easier than coming during the day and seeing the  
hurt look in her daughters eyes.

She stroked her hand before looking back at Richard who was asleep on  
the fold out couch. An addition he had seen to from the moment Meredith  
was admitted.

Things seemed weird for her, she knew that this was where she belonged,  
but wasn't sure she was ready. She wasn't sure whether this was ever  
going to be something she was ready for. As if reading her thoughts  
Derek cleared his throat. "Mom is staying here another week to watch  
her at home." He informed her. "You should utilise that time to make  
amends."

Ellis looked up at him surprised by the comment.

"Don't leave her hurting El. I love her, and I know you do too. But I  
want you at my wedding, and if you keep hiding from this, she won't want  
you there." He added.

Ellis didn't know what to say. Emotions whirled through her mind and  
heart. Her daughter was supposed to be getting married and she didn't  
even know if she was going to be invited.


	7. Chapter 7

The ride downstairs in her wheelchair was nothing short of embarrassing, and yet it was something she had experienced before. It wasn't like she had an option to walk out of this place though, not like she would have wanted anyway. So, with her hand on her growing bump, she let her father wheel her down to the main entrance of the hospital.

She hadn't been able to bring herself to the point of asking about her mother, having hated that she hadn't been down to see her, or even tried to talk to her. There was nothing worse than knowing that as much as your mother had said that she wanted in on your life that she couldn't accept this part of it. It was enough to send her head into a spin.

When they reached the entrance, her father had put her bag down next to her and had said something quickly about needing to answer a page, a page that she hadn't even heard.

It was only moments later that she felt a presence sitting beside her, and looked up to see that Richie had wheeled their mother down and sat her next to her.

Without saying anything, he put her bags down before moving back towards the building.

Feeling nothing but cold for the woman who apparently wanted something to do with her, but hadn't even had the courage to come see her, she used her strength, to wheel her chair forward, away from her mother.

Ellis watched with pain in her eyes but knowing that it may possibly have been a warranted move, said nothing. She couldn't blame Meredith for her own incapability's. If she had been strong enough to visit her while she was awake, she was sure things would be a lot different to what they were right now.

They both sat there in complete silence, as they watched Elizabeth pull up in Derek's car. Meredith looked at her confused when she watched Elizabeth climb out and gather both her bags and Ellis's and placed them in to the back of the car. It was slowly becoming clearer to her why her mother was also out here.

Letting out a sigh, she pushed herself up out of the chair, a little quicker than she had anticipated, and had to quickly steady herself as she experienced a head spin.

She felt her mothers eyes on her as she steadied herself, and knew that she was probably thinking that she should probably be staying in the hospital. It was bad enough that she had to spend another 2 weeks at home resting, she wouldn't have been able to handle another week at work, even if it would mean that she was closer to her friends and brothers.

Richie reappeared to help both Meredith and Ellis into the car before climbing into the back seat. Meredith was also in the back seat, and was yet to speak to either of them as she didn't like the situation she was finding herself in.

Ellis sat in the front next to Elizabeth, and everyone remained silent as she pulled the car away from the side, and headed towards the main road, their wheelchairs being left out the front of the hospital for the nurses to collect.

.... shine on.... shine on........ shine on

Elizabeth could feel the tension in the car as she cut her way through the busy traffic. She knew the drive was only a 10 minute trip at the best of times, but there was something telling her that this trip was going to take forever, and even if it didn't, it sure was going to feel like it.

She looked into the rear view mirror, her eyes settling on Meredith, her beloved daughter in law – or soon to be, so her son informed her. The one woman who had somehow captured her sons heart and opened him up to the world that surrounded him. She had always been intrigued by the woman who seemed to be a quiet force of nature. She also seemed to have had managed to keep a few secrets, hence the heart issue, but was also blessing their growing family with the little baby she had kept safe in her womb. Nothing had thrilled her more than to hear both Meredith and baby were okay and that they had both pulled through the surgery. She had hated to admit how truly scared she had been at the concept of her daughter wielding a scalpel on the woman who was very much becoming a part of their family, let alone the fact that she was pregnant with her grandchild.

Her eyes shifted away from her, and caught the troubled look on the young boy who was also sitting in the back. She couldn't imagine how difficult it must be for him, after all this time he had lived without a family, only to be put in the situation that he was now in. Surely things would be extremely different if his mother had decided to not run away from her pain in the first place.

She often wondered, as her eyes shifted to Ellis Webber, how anyone could abandon their children in the manner that Ellis Webber had. She had heard the story from Mark many years ago, had held the young man as he cried, needing the arms of a mother to soothe him. It had broken her heart then, and the story never failed to pull on her heart strings, even now with the knowing that the woman was also Meredith's mother. "If you could call her that." She thought to herself as she let out a small sigh, her eyes moving to completely focus on the road in front of her.

They were only a matter of minutes from home now and she knew that saying anything to any of them could just make an awkward situation more awkward. She had no idea why Ellis had kept it from Meredith that she had visited her during the evenings, or why Meredith blatantly refused to go visit her, even after her last surgery. It seemed that neither was going to bend, and she couldn't help but wonder whether this was the only trait Meredith had acquired from her mother, even after years of her mother being absent.

Both women had strong yet somewhat delicate facial features, of course, Ellis's looked stronger and very much worn, even though she was just a few years younger that herself. Meredith seemed very nurturing, and she couldn't say that she picked that as one of the qualities Ellis would have had when Meredith was little, hell she couldn't even tell whether Richie had ever experienced anything like that in her whole life, so she could only assume that it was a trait that she had picked up from Richard. Most of all, Elizabeth could see the way both twisted their hands, or played with their watched and rings when they were nervous or stressed, and she couldn't help but notice as she pulled up into Meredith's drive way, that it was exactly what they were doing right now.


	8. Chapter 8

**ok so i have finally caught up on updating on this site. I ma going to try and update once a wekk here... thanks for reading... enjoy**

Derek walked out of Merediths house to go meet the car, as his mother opened her door. He had wanted to go pick up Meredith and Ellis, but had decided that it was probably best to let his mother do it, instead, he had busied himself making sure that Merediths room was ready for her, and that the spare room that had actually once been an office, was set up for Ellis.

He moved to the far side passenger door where he could see Meredith. He was relieved to have her back in her home, even with the knowledge that the other interns would be crashing around here at night, because he liked the idea of her being out of the hospital, and no longer attached to the machines.

On opening the door, a big smile spread across his face, only to fall with the look hat was in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're home." He stated as he helped her from the car, only to be pushed away.

"Mer" he stated with a frown, but she just put her hand up in his face to silence him before moving past, her spare hand gently rubbing her stomach.

He watched as she then made her way up to the house. She didn't look back at him, and all it did was make him worry. "Has the baby?" he went to ask, but then stopped knowing full well that if there was something wrong with the baby that she would have already told him.

Feeling the eyes of the others sitting on him, he made sure to grab her bag before quickly following her into the house. He had no idea what was wrong with her, actually thinking about it more, he did, but he hadn't expected her to react quite like this.

Ellis and Elizabeth watch him rush towards the house as Richie grabs his mothers bags. He didn't really understand the point of bringing them inside, after all it wasn't as if they were going to be staying here. It just seemed that they were going to be spending the day here until his father clocked off of work. He himself should have been at school today, but it didn't seem to matter to the others, after all he wasn't going to be becoming a doctor like the rest of the family.

Ellis looks to Elizabeth and lets out a small sigh, while Elizabeth rests a small hand on her shoulder. "She doesn't understand why you didn't visit." Elizabeth told her, while in her mind she was also asking why. "Maybe you should talk to her." She suggested.

Richie watched as his mother shrugged her shoulders. "She doesn't want to know." She told her before slowly making her way towards her old house, a house that she once shared with someone she didn't love.

Shaking his head, his frustration obvious, Richie followed close behind, not at all sure if he understood the women in his family.

Elizabeth, relieved to have them all heading in the direction of the house, grabbed her hand bag and followed, hoping that the day ahead wouldn't be as awkward.

........................ shine on ........ shine on........... shine on.........

Derek had followed Meredith up to their bedroom, or well her bedroom as he hadn't actually moved in with her. In fact, while Meredith had been in hospital, he had put into action "Project baby", and after having his cousin draw up an awesome set of house plans, had hired the builders, and saw everything take off. He had been surprised about how quickly the project was put into action, and was already seeing massive changes to his land.

Shaking his head, he pulled himself away from his thoughts of his land and watched and wondered what in the hell Meredith was doing. She was moving around her room frantically, grabbing at this and that, and shoving them into what appeared to be an overnight bag. He wanted to stop her, but he could see the anger on his face, and knew that if he put himself in front of her then what ever anger she was currently bottling up would explode, and most likely it would explode on him. So he watched, and waited until he finally realised that everything she was packing were things that she was going to need to stay out somewhere.

"Mer, babe, what are you doing?" he asked finally, moving from his spot by the door, and closer to where she was now standing. He watched as she then turned to head to the bathroom to grab her spare bottle of shampoo and conditioner, she always kept a spare set, never knowing when she was going to run out.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she asked as she shoved them into her ba before struggling to close it.

"Well it looks like you are packing" he stated as he took a risk by moving closer to her.

"Wow, who'd have thought the brain surgeon could figure out such a simple thing." She stated, the sarcasm oozing from her as she threw the bag over her shoulder and began making her way towards the door.

"Mer, where are you going?" he asked, quickly following her to the door, grabbing her before she could open it.

"Somewhere she's not." She stated as she tried to shrug him off.

"Please don't." He said as he let out a sigh, pulling the bag out of her grasp before throwing it on the bed.

"And why not?" she asked, her voice going soft as the tears began to build in her eyes.

"Because they aren't staying here." He told her, as his arms wrapped around her. "They are both staying with your father, we just brought them home."

"Promise?" he heard her ask in such a meek voice, he was shocked that it was her.

"Promise." He replied before he dropped a kiss on her forehead. "They are just here until he finishes work."


	9. Chapter 9

**so as promised, im going to start updating on this site at the same time as i update on the other.... enjoy**

Meredith had changed to a pair of comfortable pyjama pants, and a singlet top before making her way back down stairs. Derek had given her some time to calm down, before having encouraged her to shower. She had done so, before settling down on her bed and reading but she knew that there was only a small amount of time that she was allowed to hide up here. If she knew Elizabeth, and could tell by the smells that were coming from the kitchen, then she would be being called for lunch sometime soon.

So treading carefully down the stairs, she moved through the house, hearing the voices that were speaking quietly in the kitchen.

"So you've got it started?" she had heard Richie ask, and heard no response.

"You'll have to show us some time." She heard Richie add, and she couldn't help but wonder what they were talking about.

Slowly she moved to the kitchen door, knocking before pushing it open with ease. "Whats going on?" she asked as she entered the room, moving towards the fridge .

"Just chatting." Derek answered with a smile on his face. "You know, future sibling bonding and all that stuff." He told her as he pulled her onto his lap. She had just closed the fridge after grabbing a bottle of water.

Meredith looked at him with suspecting eyes, she could tell he was up to something.

"How was your rest?" he asked, "feel any better?" He then followed through by wrapping his arms around her tightly, hand rubbing over the small bump.

"Hmmm...." she sighed as she cuddled into him, she could feel everyone's eyes on her, and suspected the possible conversation that was coming her way.

"You took off up those stairs pretty quick when we got home." Elizabeth commented before pushing a plate of food in front of her. "You didn't get the present Derek had for you."

"What present?" she asked as she turned and looked at Derek nervously.

"Just a little something to welcome you home." He murmured. His face meeting hers in a soft kiss. "It was going to be a surprise, but everyone seems to think i should tell you now." He told her as he moved a hand to push some of her hair off of her face.

"I hate surprises." She told him, and she knew that he already knew this. It had been something they had discussed before.

"Well, good thing its not a surprise then," as he pointed towards the model house that was on the kitchen bench. After his cousin had drawn up the plans, he built a small model version of it so that he could help with the surprise.

Meredith looked at the little house confused. "You got me a dolls house?" she asked, not sure what to think.

"No." He told her as he watched her face change from the puzzling look it once had been to an intrigued look.

"A bird house?" she stated, causing her own mother to laugh out loud.

"Come on Meredith." She said amused by her daughters naievety.

"Well what then?" Meredith asked, shooting her mother a glare.

"Its our house." He told her as he kissed her shoulder.

"Der you're a little delusional, there is no way we can live in that." She told him causing his mother to chuckle.

"No Mer, its a model of our house. Our house that is being built right at this very moment." He told her as she turned to face him.

"What?" she asked, a little shocked by the news.

"I love you, im going to marry you." He told her as a hand moved up to cup her face. "I want to build a home for you." He said softly. "For us." He added as he rested a hand against her stomach.

"for us..." she said softly as she then moved to stand.

Derek was worried that Meredith was going to run, she had a fearful look in her eyes and he had no idea what she had in mind.

He watched as she approached the model and began to look it over.

"It has 5 bedrooms." He told her. "For us, the kids and a few guests, all though we are building a little cottage for them." He stated.

"We have an ensuite, and the main bathroom is big enough for everyone else to use." He said as he stood.

"The basement is the games room, plus there is a mud room for when i have been down by the lake fishing, you know you hate it when i smell like trout. We also have a family room, and a state of the art Kitchen, which is my domain by the way. This house has everything we said that we both wanted in a house. With all lifes little luxuries to keep us happy." He said as he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her shoulder.

"When did you do all this?" she asked, she knew that he would duck off sometimes, but she had always figured that he was in surgery. He had received a lot of phone calls through out the second week of her stay in the hospital, but she thought that it was his sisters calling to check on her. She couldn't comprehend when this had all happened.

"Once you pulled through the surgery." He told her. "Once my whole life was intact, i knew then it was okay for me to start organising our future, our home." He added.

Meredith turned in his arms, her back against the bench as her hands moved to sit on his hips. "When do they start?" she asked knowing that in just short of 5 months they were going to have a little baby running around who was definitely going to need the space.

"They started 2 weeks ago. I set it up on the cliff, just up-hill from the lake. You know that place we found that first morning. I thought it was perfect." He told her.

Meredith smiled at him softly, relieved to hear that he had found the perfect place. "You amaze me." She told him as she brought her hands up to cup his cheeks.

"You amaze me." He replied as he leant down to kiss her, both forgetting that they had company as he deepened the kiss. Only pulling away when he needed air.

"I love you" he told her as he pulled her in close.

"I love you too." She sighed as she rested her head against his chest, surprised that he had done all of this for her, for them, their family.


	10. Chapter 10

Meredith really hadn't expected this. Not the house or anything else. Things seemed to just come to them, especially in these past few months. It was true that the news of the house being built was enough to distract her from her mothers presence, even if it was just for the day. Ellis of course had been hurt by her obvious ignorance, and it hadn't mattered what Richie had said or done, nothing could bring Meredith to even look up and acknowledge that she was there. Derek had watched her closely, pretending to be oblivious. He knew that he would need to have a word with Richie about interfering with the mess, especially when Ellis needed to be the one to cross the bridge and extend the olive branch. Elizabeth too had felt uncomfortable with the situation, especially when they had started to talk about the wedding, and the possibility that she could maybe hang back from returning to New York and help her make the plans. Of course she had agreed, not wanting anything to go wrong with the up and coming nuptials, but even she acknowledged that a date had not been set. Once Richard arrived, followed closely by Mark and Alex who both accompanied by their respective partners, the house grew rather noisily, and busy, as Addison helped Elizabeth and Richard prepare a family dinner. Christina had sat down next to Meredith on the couch, moving to lie down and put her head in Meredith's lap. She had used the argument that she had in fact "been the pregnant woman on her feet all day, while Meredith had the pleasure of sitting down." It hadn't taken long for Mark and Alex to join them in the lounge room, all entering a large discussion on the rapidly growing family. Not one of them spoke of their babies as actually being there, or even in a major parental gloat session as both Addison and Christina still hadn't quite reached the end of their first trimester, while Meredith had quite the bumpy start to her second. They had all been quietly talking, slowly joined by Derek who had made it his job to set the table, followed by Richie who had finally got up the courage to join them. His mother having finally told him to join in and not worry about her, that he can't always be her buffer, especially when she was making him go to school the next day. They had all kept talking, adjusting the conversation with each new addition. From Seattle versus Yankees supporters, Derek being out numbered greatly, to possible play dates of the 3 cousins when they are all going to be in day-care. "The nurses will have their hands full." Ellis had finally spoken up. She had only just joined them after having a long argument with herself over the fact that her not being a part of this was her fault. Everyone turned to look at her, not exactly sure what they should say. Especially when they hadn't really been paying attention to the fact that she Was even there. "If any of your children are anything like you three were when you were little Then the nurses wont ever stop. I would get a phone call from the day care about 3 times a day, more so when you hit your terrible two's." She added. Christina sat up, and everyone else looked at Ellis to give her the go ahead to continue. It was all just a matter of not really knowing what they were going to hear. If it was anything interesting, then maybe Meredith could warrant lifting her head to Look at her. Instead, she moved from her spot on the sofa over to Derek who was sitting in the recliner. She quickly settled in next to him, her head moving to rest on his chest, as he moved the chair back into a laying position. "When all three of you hit that day-care." Ellis started "I couldn't believe that i was back at work. My Chief didn't even expect me back. He had said that he thought i would drop out once i had the twins. It wasn't going to be easy having 3 kids. He thought i couldn't hack it, and i have to admit i had no idea how i was going to do it." She said as she smiled softly. "Mark had just started kindergarten, and once he finished there your grandmother would pick him up and drop him off to the day-care, where he would kick and scream because he didn't want to be near the twins. But as soon as everyone turned their backs he would be their pretending to read them a story. They would have only been a few months old, but he insisted that they understood. It became a habit for him to come from kindergarten and slide straight into day care, taking out his home reader and reading to both of them. He would always look so pleased that he could do something for them. The habit kept up, especially as the books became bigger, and harder. Of course once they knew how to walk they would get bored a little and would crawl away and he would drag them back and keep going. It was a rather awkward situation when i was paged one day. I came down to find that a two year old Meredith had decided that she didn't want to hear him read the book, that she wanted to look at it herself and had pulled the book out of Marks hands causing Mark to chuck a tantrum. Then of course Alex had decided that he wanted the book too and he ripped the page trying to get it from Meredith. You couldn't believe the hassle i had trying to get all three to calm down because not only couldn't they share the book, but they had ripped it. Mark was crying and yelling because they had ripped his school book and Meredith and Alex were crying because they wanted it. It was complete mayhem." "Where was Thatcher when all this was happening?" Derek found himself asking, and he felt Meredith tense beside him. "Travelling, teaching, i cant remember, he did a lot of both." Ellis replied simply. "Either way, when i got to the day care i had all 3 fighting for my attention, to the point i just had to sit down and tackle all 3 of them at once. That was the first time Richard really stepped up and began to help out with the three of them. He was there, whenever i needed him. To help in the day care if i was in surgery or to even grab them when day care closed. He would take Mark to the park, build blocks with Alex, and play tea parties with Meredith. I cant... i cant believe how long ago that all seems now." She murmured. "It was a lifetime ago." Richard said as he leaned in the door way, his eyes on his growing family. "it's just a shame i couldn't do those things for Richie too." He added before moving away from the door frame and further into the room. "No amount of excuses or apologies will ever make up for what you have done, but isn't it time that you begin to mend some of those broken bridges." He told her as he moved to stand beside Meredith and Derek. Ellis looked like she was going to say something, but then surprised everyone else by keeping quiet. Instead they all began their own little conversations with Mark trying to draw Richie into a conversation and Alex talking quietly to Christina. "Dinners almost ready Mer.' Richard told her as he ran a soothing hand over her back. "Time for your meds." He added, as he then coaxed her up out of the recliner and leading her towards the kitchen, all under the watchful eye of Derek and Ellis. 


	11. Chapter 11

Richard kept an eye on Meredith throughout dinner. He didn't want her to feel uncomfortable in the place that was supposed to be her own home. The other interns had slowly drifted in from their shift, smiling before heading up to their rooms. He had been sure that they would eventually come down and join them, but it seemed, after an hour that they wouldn't.

Now as Meredith sat in Dereks arms, curled up and three parts asleep, he couldn't help but worry that things would not be mended between Ellis and Meredith. Especially when the boys seemed to be taking it ever so slowly, and yet no progress was being made with Meredith. He was going to have a talk with Ellis tonight. He already had it planned. They would return home to his house, which was now becoming theirs, and on seeing Richie to bed he would broach the subject.

A lot had changed in the last month. He knew that, but still he needed to protect his family, his daughter, and if that meant protecting them from their mother than he would do that to. After all, Ellis was the first person to cause his little family a great deal of pain, and on a small level he was completely petrified that she would do it again.

He watched as Derek ran a soothing hand down Merediths back. He could see the love between them, and was more than thrilled that they had found each other. He had been concerned when he had first found out about their situation, and was relieved that they hadn't lost their baby, as he hadn't wanted anymore sadness or loss to experienced by his daughter. He could see that they were very much a duo, and he had to wonder how long it would be before Meredith would move out of this temporary home and into the one that Derek was building for them.

He then turned to look to where Addison and Mark were sitting, on the couch together. Addison appeared to be talking softly to Mark, as his hand slowly ran across her stomach. He was glad that Mark was able to see the sense in sticking by her side. He had changed a lot in the past month. He had grown up a little more, but more so he had moved to step up and become the man that he knew that Mark could be. He had seen the changes in Marks attitude towards Addison, he had been more caring. It was obvious that he cherished her just that little bit more and that that his love was becoming something he would happily show.

Then he spotted Alex, sitting on the floor with Christina. They appeared to be an awkward couple. Not a pair that he would have picked, especially when he had thought that the young Dr Stevens that Meredith worked with had a thing for him. Yet somehow he could see that they fit. They went together in a way he could never have imagined.

It was then in that moment it struck him. His kids were going to be having their own kids, and his real kid – a son he had only just met – was going to be still around He didn't get to experience this. What each of them was going through. He didn't get to experience the rubbing of Ellis's stomach the tiredness, the nausea, the hormones and the cravings. They were all things that he didn't get to experience, and he couldn't stop the hate at that moment from ripping through his body as he raised his eyes to meet his wife's.

He knew that he wasn't able to hide the emotion, the intensity of what he was feeling. He knew that everything he was feeling right now was caught up in his eyes. And he could see that she was able to see it too. The only thing being was that she didn't back down, or cringe at the anger in his eyes. There, in her eyes, he could see a level of defiance, a strong argument that he was sure she would use to try and justify everything, while in the meantime it was pointless and would really justify nothing.

"I" I start, but stop, looking back to my kids and knowing that this wasn't the right place to unravel my emotions, not when Meredith had just gotten home from the hospital, and not when there were bonds that still needed to be reformed. "Its time for us to go." I tell her a little firmly, the tone of my voice catching the attention of everyone else.

"Dad" Meredith breathes out, and i look to her a little guiltily. "Are you ok?" she asks.

I nod slightly, my eyes quickly wandering over my children and their partners, again taking in the sight of them nurturing and looking after their partners, or in Merediths case, being looked after by hers. "I just..." I start before pulling my eyes back to Meredith. "I just need to get your mother home." I finally finish, my eyes now moving back to Ellis's.

She looks at me, almost begging for me to challenge her here in front of them, as if she had something she could say that would make them and us all better. But i don't give her the chance. There is nothing she could possibly say that could take away what i have missed, and yet, i know that at least now i have a chance to get to know my son. It still doesn't take back what i have missed, and that thought stays with me.

"Do you want me to get Moms bags?" I hear Richie offer and i nod, knowing that its something he can do for me, even if the rest feels so impossible.

I move to stand, and watch as my kids follow suit. It seems that everybody else will make a move to their respective homes.

The boys come give me there short man hug embraces, while Addie pops a kiss on my cheek. I then move to encircle Meredith with my large arms, enjoying being able to hold her even if it was just for a moment. A nod to Yang, a Thanks to Elizabeth and then a shake of the hand by Derek see's us all migrate to the front door where we all disperse. All the while Ellis hangs back from us, not fitting in, but a determination on her face that tells me, she will see this through.


	12. Chapter 12

After Richard, Richie and Ellis left, the others slowly began to follow, but first Mark and Alex had to take their girls around the house to share some of the memories of the place. Admittedly most weren't exactly the happy bubbly stories that one would associate with a onetime family home. However they did manage to stumble across a few old storied that they themselves had forgotten. Once done they too had quickly said their goodbyes before departing.

Alex had noticed how tired Christina was looking, and yet knew that she would deny any such things on being spoken to about it. He knew that she probably needed a day off tomorrow to recuperate after all things had been pretty crazy this past month. He had pushed her into moving in with him. He had the bigger apartment, which meant that both of them would be able to survive in the one living space. Plus, she may as well have been living with him because she had been spending every night there anyway.

Opening the car door for Christina was probably the only gesture he would be able to get away with for the moment, but his mind had already began ticking over on ways that he could help her out tomorrow.

Mark had carried a half asleep Addison to their car, sliding her into her seat and buckling her in. His lips had softly caressed hers before he had pulled away and moved to get into the driver's side of the car. They both had a day off scheduled tomorrow, and in having that he had already made plans to stay in bed with her all day and show her just how much he loved her and appreciated her. She'd had a pretty hectic month with her needing to monitor Meredith's baby, let alone proceeding through their own pregnancy. He had made sure she had been on her prenatal vitamins, as well as keeping her fluids up, and he would deliver her food if she was really busy too.

Derek had smiled as he had watched each of their gestures. Meredith had her eyes closed and her head rested on his chest, and if he didn't know any better then he would have thought that she had fallen asleep there. He carefully moved his hand up over her stomach, rubbing it slightly as Meredith let out a small contented sigh.

The house was quiet, which Derek was completely sure a random feet. His mother had headed up to bed when Ellis and Richard had decided they were leaving. She had excused herself stating that she needed to get ready for bed. The other interns had not ventured down, and he was sure that both Izzie and George probably felt like invaders when it came to these family situations. He himself had felt odd at first, but he had only needed to remind himself that he belonged here, that this was now a part of his family, and to tell you the truth, he loved it. He loved seeing Meredith with her family and knowing that she had the love and support of her siblings, although he had to admit it was pretty crazy to think that they would all be having babies somewhere in the same time vicinity. He was pretty sure that his sisters couldn't have timed it better. They had come close once, but had spaced it out between 6 months for 3 of them.

"Sleepy" Meredith finally spoke up, pulling him from his thoughts as he felt her turn into him, using him more like a pillow now.

"I should probably get you up to bed." He stated, knowing too well that she probably should have been in bed hours ago, even though she was more than likely relieved to be out of bed.

"Hmmm" Meredith had sighed in response and before long his arms had surrounded her, before cupping the back of her knees and scooping her into his arms. He had expected a shriek, or a demand to be put down, but instead, Meredith had just snuggled further into him. By the time he had reached the top of the stairs Meredith's snores were being emitted in a soft equal rhythm.

"I love you." Derek whispered as he carefully laid her down on the bed, not worrying about changing her as she had already dressed in her pyjamas.

"Lllll u too." Meredith mumbled in her sleep as she rolled over into her natural sleeping position and drifted off completely, leaving Derek to change quietly before climbing into bed beside her and pulling her close.


	13. Chapter 13

Richard had been seething quietly the whole drive home. He had thought of numerous things he could say to Ellis about what she had done, what she had taken from him, but it wouldn't change the past and he knew that.

After having Richie help un pack her things from the car he had escorted her to Merediths old room. He wasn't ready to have her in his bed just yet, and he wasn't sure when he would be.

There was a lot between them that needed to be dealt with and it was undeniable that this was going to be something hard to get through. He couldn't get past the fact that he had been left to raise her children – children who may as well have been his – while she was off raising the one blood connection that they had between them. The one thing that could have seen their family grow and strengthen.

He went down stairs, having left Ellis in her room, knowing that Richie was now preparing for school the next day.

He didn't opt to switch on any lights as he made his way down the stairs, stumbling his way through the kitchen to the dining room where the old bar was located.

He hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since the day Ellis had left, which had amazed him, because they would have had a night cap before crashing into bed together. But now, now he had the strong urge for a drink. They had always topped it up, Meredith and the boys, as they would have a drink occasionally when they were talking about Christmas or thanksgiving. One having already been, the other just around the corner.

Pouring himself a straight vodka. He tightens his hand on the glass and sits down in the large recliner that Meredith had bought him for the previous Christmas.

It took him forever to drink that drink. It had been brutal at first. Wincing at the taste, he eventually became accustomed to.

Half a bottle later, he could definitely say that he was feeling better than he had. So better in fact that he thought that it wouldn't be too much to ask for some affection from his wife. A wife that had been absent for far too long. That thought alone had made him angry. She hadn't just abandoned him. She had abandoned her wifely duties.  
"She owes me a good 17 years worth." He mumbled as he struggled to stand, leaving the glass on the coffee table beside the chair.

He wobbles a bit, knowing that he had definitely drank too much. Maybe he should go to bed. The thought flickers in and out of his mind quickly before it centres back on the original plan.

He staggers to the stairs, stumbles and yet doesn't fall as he begins to make the climb. He relies heavily on the rail, almost too much as he feels it shift under his weight.

He stumbles as his foot catches the top step, this time falling to his knees. "Ooompf" he sounds, before struggling to stand back up.

"Richard?" he hears Ellis call, and when he manages to get back up he can see her standing in the hall way, now looking over at him.

"Your drunk" she states as she helps him stand, being careful not to carry too much of his weight as she was still feeling the freshness of being out of the hospital.

"You" he says as he manages to stand straight.

Ellis having let go, steps back to look at her husband, before she knows what is happening, he pushes her up against the wall. His mouth on hers.

She tastes the strong taste of vodka in his mouth, and she thinks of the last time that this kind of thing happened, and she knows it has been forever.

She kisses him back at first, savouring the feel of his mouth on hers. She has missed him.

Suddenly one hand is pulling her head to the side as his mouth begins to attack her neck, his other hand moving to push her nightie up.

"Richard" she said, pantingly, feeling the sting of a hicky on her neck.

"You now." He grumbles as he tried to hitch her leg to his hip but she wouldn't budge it.

"El" he grumbles as he tries again.

This time Ellis pushes hard against him, causing him to stumble back.

"You owe me." He said with a growl as he moved back towards her.

"I do" she said pantingly as she stepped forward and kissed him. "But not like this. Not now." She told him as she pulled back, and watched as his face fell.

"You will regret it in the morning." She told him as she turned him towards the bedroom, giving him a slight push in that direction. "We will talk tomorrow." She said softly as she watched him stumble away, knowing why he had just acted the way he had, and not liking it at all.

She turns to head back to her room, her eyes flicking to Richie's door, which had just closed, and she knew that he had seen it all. She could only hope that he wouldn't judge his father too harshly for his actions.


	14. Chapter 14

The next few weeks seemed to fly by in a sense of awkwardness. Meredith was wary in regards to her mother. She would listen when spoken to, but was reluctant to enter any conversation with her. If Derek was there, then she would try, as she knew that it was important to him.

Elizabeth had encouraged her to go shopping, having told her that she could no longer walk around the house with her jeans undone, and that she too also needed to buy more tops as the ones that were straining over her now rounded stomach were not going to last her much longer.

On this day, it seemed her father dubbed it appropriate that that all of the girls were going shopping. She had watched as her mother had climbed into the jeep her father had recently purchased for the new "ready made family". Elizabeth was behind the wheel of the car, as Meredith hadnt been cleared to drive just yet, Christina didnt have a car licence and Addie was a protected species according to Richard as she was carrying precious cargo as well. It seemed that he didnt want any of the girls driving, and he seemed to have somehow found a reason for each of them.

Meredith watched as her father leaned forward and kissed her mothers cheek, and she gave his arm a slight squeeze as he looked towards Richie, who she hadnt seen for the past few weeks, but could see that he was glaring at their father. She couldnt help but wonder what had happened. He had been making progress with their father right from the start, trying hard to get accepted into the family, and once he had gone back to school he had shout down completely and Meredith couldnt help but worry that something might have happened at school. She knew that kids could be very cruel.

Making a note to find out what the go was, she rest her head back on the seat, and looked between her sister in law and best friend, who were all grumbling about this expected field trip.

"Now now girls, this is a bonding experience." Elizabeth told them throwing them a big smile. Meredith rolled her eyes, before meeting her mothers in the reflection of the side mirror.

"Bye daddy." She said softly as her father opened the door and pressed a quick kiss to her head.

"I know Derek has given you his credit card, but here's mine, please get all the stuff that you three need. My grand babies and their mothers deserve the best." He told her before closing her door.

Meredith nodded, looking down at the card she had just received. "Alex needs to save his trust fund for more important things." Her father added.

Meredith could see something in her fathers eyes, and knew that he knew something that she obviously didn't about her twin.

"Enjoy" her father added, giving her a nod before he stepped back and looked at Richie who was obviously disgruntled about being left in his fathers care.  
..........................................................

.shine on..................... shine on

Ellis had been watching her for half of the day, tiredly trying many times to catch her alone. She had been obviously wanting to talk to her about something, but Meredith had been tied to the others. They had saved her from many of Ellis's frivolous attempts, to the point that Elizabeth was feeling sorry for the woman. After all she was trying to make amends with her daughter and the other two weren't really helping.

Finally they were stopping for lunch, and Elizabeth was hoping that this time could be best utilised by Ellis, especially when she already had her plan sorted. She would just have to hope that the other two would finally back off for long enough and let them talk. She had no idea what Ellis would say to her but she hoped that it could be the beginning of some sort of reconciliation.

On reaching the food court, after visiting their last shop in this mall, they decided it was time to stop and get something to eat. Elizabeth was quick to help them find a table as she was worried about Meredith who was looking tired, and Ellis who was starting to hold her back slightly. She knew that this shopping venture would take a lot out of them and hoped that they would pull through lunch okay, and maybe get the second wind needed for the last few shops that Addison had said she wanted to visit.

Meredith, Ellis and the girls slumped down in the chairs before looking around the court to see what food was actually on offer to them. There was quite a range of food, and Elizabeth guessed that it wouldn't be the easiest decision that three pregnant women would make. Looking between the four other women, she decided that it would be now or never for her to make her move. Taking out the small pill bottle from her bag, she placed it in front of Meredith, she then turned to the other two pregnant women and forced a smile onto her face.

"Im going to go retrieve what Meredith and Ellis want, i suggest you go get something for yourselves to eat now. We need to get everything before the peak hour traffic." She instructed.

The three pregnant women looked between each other before the other two gave a reluctant sigh and stood.

"Can you please get me a chicken salad." Meredith asked Elizabeth. "And maybe a few chips with some ketchup." She added with a tilt of her head, giving her an innocent look as they both knew that she really shouldn't be eating hot chips.

Elizabeth looked at her carefully, taking in the small bump that was her grandchild. "Meredith you really shouldn't" she said with a sigh, and she watched a frown form on Meredith's face. "Instead, why don't i get you the chicken salad, and you can add some avocado to it." She suggested.

Meredith rolled her eyes before letting out a sigh. She really was craving those chips. "Fine" she mumbles like a stubborn child before slumping forward, leaning against the table.

"Here" her mother says after everyone has moved off to buy their food, as she passes her a bottle of water.

"What's this for?" Meredith asked as she tilted her head up to look at her.

"Take your meds" Ellis said softly feeling as if she had no place to be instructing Meredith to do so.

Meredith looked at her closely before sitting up and taking the water from her.

Ellis watched Meredith closely as she took the pills, and with a nod of appreciation she took the bottle of water back. "Thank you." She again spoke softly, the concern obvious in her tone.

Meredith looked at her in confusion, there was something about her mother right at this moment that she couldn't be sure of; something that told her to 'shut up and listen' even if she didn't really want to.

Meredith waited, knowing that she wasn't about to make the first move in any of this.

"I visited you in hospital." Ellis finally told her. "I came when you were sleeping because i felt llliiike i had no right to be there at all." She said and it was almost as if it hadn't been said at all.

Meredith stared at her for a moment before looking at the pill bottle in front of her. "What's going on between Dad and Richie?" Meredith replied.

Ellis sat up a little straighter despite the pain in her back. "You noticed the looks i take it." She said in response as she stiffened slightly. "Your father, he ummm... he got drunk the other night, and got a little angry." She told her honestly. "He said and did things and Richie wasn't impressed."

Meredith shook her head. "Dad doesn't drink, he... he didn't drink at Addie and Marks wedding. He doesn't drink."

"He would occasionally have a night cap before i left." Ellis told her, not wanting to argue. "Just know that he needed the drink, its out of his system."

Meredith shook her head. "No he wouldn't have done anything."

"Meredith" Ellis said strongly. "I'm not angry at him for what he did. Richie doesn't quite understand, and he will work it out in time, but he did drink, he did get angry, and it was rightfully so. We talked. This doesn't concern you."

"What did you do to turn him against Dad?" Meredith asked looking frustrated.

"Nothing" Came a voice from behind her and she turns to see her Father with Richie. "She did nothing Meredith." Her father said as he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I did something i'm not proud of, and yes i did get drunk, but it wont happen again. Will it Richie?" he said, referring to her brother who was looking down at the ground.

Richie shook his head.

"Now, Meredith, calm down and eat your salad." He told her before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Meredith looked at the salad that sat in front of her, now noticing that Elizabeth had returned with the food.

"Sit" Ellis ordered instead of inviting, and both boys pulled chairs up to the table, and Richie put down their tray of food. There was obviously a little tension still present, but it seemed that maybe they were working on it.


	15. Chapter 15

She knew that she really should try with her mother, even as she climbed out of the car just now. Her father had pulled her to the side and begged her to. It seemed that she really didn't have a choice in the matter. He was desperate, she had heard it in his voice and she had no idea when he had gone from her big papa bear who was fearless, to the guy he had become. She didn't know whether she should hate her mother for the obvious change that had occurred in him.

Derek had been waiting for her at home, and had helped her with her things, and she cant honestly say that she had spent that much money today, as she couldn't really think of what she needed right now. She had just bought a few items of clothing that would get her by.

She had fallen into Dereks waiting arms, and gave a quick wave to her parents before burying her head in his chest, and just enjoying the short moment she could spend being trapped in his arms.

Derek rubbed small circles on her back, soothing her and loving her in any way he thought was necessary and in a way that relaxed her enough that she was ready to go inside. Dereks mother having already entered the house under the guise of going to cook tea. They stood there for a moment, bags strewn near their feet as she revelled in his nearness.

"I love you." Meredith murmured as she clung to him, wanting to feel him so close to her that her hands moved inside his t-shirt.

"I love you too." He replied simply as he moved to tilt her head so he could capture her lips.

Meredith sighed as he pulled away, knowing that they would need to trek inside soon enough. She untangled her arms from around him, and began to make her way inside the house, he followed close behind with the remainder of the bags.

Once inside Meredith headed straight for the bedroom. She knew that their dinner would be ready soon, but it didn't stop her from wanting to just lay down for a moment.

She took the stairs slowly not wanting to rush as she had already tested the theory of rushing earlier and she was sure that her chest would tighten slightly as her heart wasn't fully repaired, it was still healing.'

She heard Derek drop everything behind her, and knew that he had probably just put it all by the door. She turned to see him take off his jacket, and kick off his shoes, dropping them next to her things.

"how was work?" she finally asked, seeing the tired look on his face.

"long" he said in response as he moved towards the bed, flopping down beside her. He then quickly rolled onto his side pulling her to him.

"How was shopping?" he asked in return.

"Same" she sighed as she shuffled back further into his embrace. They were quiet for a moment, neither sure what to say next as they both just wanted to be with each other in silence. Finally Meredith decided to break it.

"Did my mother really come and visit during the evenings?" she asked as she moved to roll over and face him.

She could see the surprised look on his face and knew that she must have.

"I know because my mother told me." She said as she squiggled that little bit closer.

"Yeah" he sighed as he leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. "She came every night for at least an hour." He told her before wraping his arms around her, holding her in place. He was scared that she was going to pull away.

Instead Meredith surprised him by burrowing further into him.

"Ok" she sighed, her hand moving to sit on her stomach as the other sat on his hip.

"ok?" he asked, as one of his hands moved to also sit on her stomach.

"Ok she murmured as she closed her eyes, now only just wanting to lay there with him.

shine on...........shine on............. shine on..............

The next day Ellis was in Meredith's kitchen when she woke up. Elizabeth had already began cooking breakfast and had smiled warmly on Merediths entrance before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. It was then and only then that she forced a smile towards her mother, giving her a nod of her head. She had thought long and hard last night on what she was going to do about the situation in front of her. Her decision being made by something she had seen in her fathers eyes.

Elizabeth quickly sat a plate of pancakes in front of her before sitting a cup of tea beside it. Ever since the whole of Derek's family had found out that she was pregnant she had been instructed to not touch a drop of coffee. She smiled and said a quick thanks before taking a quick drink from her tea. She then waited a moment before she again chanced a look at her mother waiting for some explanation for her presence.

"Your father dumped me here when he got called in for an emergency surgery." Ellis told Meredith before watching a frown form on her face. "not that i didn't really want to come around. Your brother will come pick me up once he finishes school. I promise i won't get in your way."

Merediths frown drops slightly as she see's her mothers uneasiness, and she knows that this is a two way thin that needs to be dealt with.

"Its okay." Meredith finally says to her as she smiles softly. "I don't think Elizabeth and I will be up to too much."

Ellis relaxes slightly, and it is clear to the others that she is feeling a little bit better about being there.

"Actually Meredith dear" Elizabeth says as she sits down with them now, her own food in front of her. "I was thinking that maybe we could talk about the wedding."

Meredith looks up at her with a surprised look on her face. "Excuse me?" she asks once she has swallowed the mouthful of pancake that she had in her mouth.

"Well, start planning, talk about if you want it before or after the baby, all those things that need to be dealt with. After all, i know you are an intern and you wont exactly have the time when you return to work next week." Elizabeth explained.

Meredith nodded, but didn't really say anything as she turned her focus back to her food. It wasn't completely like she didn't want to plan and organise her wedding, but she hadn't really thought about it before.

After 15 minutes of eating her pancakes and drinking her tea, enjoying the silence of the moment, she gathered up her empty plate and cup and took it over to the sink. She took a deep breath before turning back to her mother and her soon to be mother in law. "Small." She said as she tilted her head, but kept her serious look on her face. "Small, on Dereks land, just family and close friends." She instructed. "Thats what i want, and Im sure Derek would agree."

Both Elizabeth and Ellis looked stunned by Merediths orders, but both were more than happy to agree, after all Ellis saw this as an opportune moment for her to bond with her daughter, while Elizabeth hoped that they could get this wedding planned and ready to happen somewhere in the immediate future.

......................... shine on ............................ shine on ...........................................

"So if we get you the purple lilies you like so much, and set up a small alter, everyone should be able to see you." Elizabeth told her with a smile.

Merediths thoughts of a small wedding had almost been completely demolished and it was obvious to Ellis that if she didn't speak up soon then maybe it would be lost altogether.

"How many people did you list again Meredith?" Ellis asked as she looked at Meredith, who had her head in her hands.

"How about i just read you the list?" Meredith asked in response as she sat up looking to her mother.

"Ok" her mother said with a small smile, seeing a glimpse of the fiest of her daughter.

"There's you, Dad and Richie, Alex and Christina, Mark and Addie, Bailey and Tucker. The from Dereks side we have Elizabeth, Nancy, Erin, Kathleen and Jade, their husbands, Peter, John, Michael and Paul. The we have the kids, Samuel, Audrey, Sally, Jane, Matthew, Izaak, Melissa, Connor, Lucas, Emily, Lisa, Maggie and Francesca." Meredith listed off. "Then we have, Joe, Walt, George and Izzie, plus Dereks friends Michael, Kevin and Arizona. Oh and Callie." Merediht finished.

Ellis nodded before trying to remember how many people there had been listed in total.

"Thats 39 people." Meredith said as she looked knowingly at her mother.

"Hardly enough to think an alter is necessary, especially if you exchange your vows on Dereks cliff, near the house you both are building. Then if you consider the fact of having everyone standing, and a short ceremony, you wont need to set up seats. Im sure you want just a simple wedding, followed by a minimally catered wedding. Something simple, yet still classy, and im assuming more you."

Meredith nodded. "Sounds good." She said as she looked quickly over at Elizabeth.

"Is that really what you want?" Elizabeth asked, and Meredith quickly nodded.

"Assuming i can get a minister soon, then im thinking we could actually do it soon." Meredith stated as she moved a hand to her stomach, rubbing her bump gently.

"Its winter dear." Elizabeth said simply.

"And i will be the size of a house if we leave it any longer." Meredith added as she looked down at her stomach.

"So you want an outside wedding during winter?" Elizabeth asked, as if she wasn't hearing what she had just heard.

"Well when you put it that way." Meredith said with a sigh.

"Maybe, you could have a wedding at the space needle, or maybe even, if the house is done, you could just have it at the house. If Dereks family decide to come down to Seattle for Christmas it would be like killing two birds with one stone." Ellis offered, and Meredith couldn't help but smile at her in-put. She was obviously thinking about still being around for the wedding.

"Hang on a sec." Meredith said as she moved to grab her phone off of the kitchen bench before quickly dialing a number that she knew she would never forget.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey" Meredith heard Dereks voice break through the line. He was returning the call he had missed while he was in surgery.

"Hi" Meredith sighed in relief, glad that he had called her back. It had been an hour since she had called, and she had guessed that he was in surgery. She had been glad though that Elizabeth had backed off slightly as Ellis had informed her that the plans couldn't possibly be continued if Meredith couldn't reach Derek, when she obviously needed to discuss something with him, then maybe they should take a break and finish the planning later.

"Whats up?" he asked knowing that she wouldn't normally call him at work if she didn't need him.

"We are... your mom decided it was time to plane the wedding, and well... i was wondering if you knew how long it was going to be until the house was finished. I mean i know its October right now and its like getting closer to winter, but i was just... thinking we could get married in the house if it was ready by Christmas."

Suddenly she hear him chuckle.

"I love it when you ramble." He finally voiced after hearing Meredith huff from frustration.

"Well?" she persisted, just wanting him to tell her.

"I'll call the builders and double check the schedule." He quickly told her, knowing that his mother was probably driving her batty about it.

"Good" she said relieved.

"I'll call you back when i know." He informed her and Meredith let out a small sigh before murmuring a thanks.

"I love you." Meredith said softly down the phone, wishing that she was there with him or that he was here with her.

"I love you too. I just need to check on my patient then i can come home." He told her knowing that she was ready for him to be home, and he was ready to be home.

"Ok" Meredith said in a soft voice as she knew he had to go home.

"i have to go." He said i n a voice just as soft as hers. "i will see you soon."

"yeah" Meredith sighed before closing her phone. She moved from her spot on the couch where she had been curled up with her legs tucked underneath her and headed towards the kitchen where her mother was sitting talking to Elizabeth, both patiently waiting for her to return.

............ shine on............... shine on........... shine on ................

Derek hadn't called her back, instead he had left as soon as he had rounded on his patient who had just come from surgery.

Richard had given him the all clear to go as he had mentioned that Meredith was getting flustered from Wedding discussions and that she would really need his support. Richard had worn a proud papa grin and had happily released him for the rest of the afternoon.

He hadn't thought of calling her to let her know that he was coming home. He had quickly ran to the change-rooms to get out of his scrubs before leaving.

Now as he pulled up in the drive way he could see Meredith pacing back and forth in front of the kitchen window. He watched her for a moment and could see that she was obviously stressing about something, which she shouldn't be considering she was supposed to be resting from surgery.

He moved out of the car quickly, wanting to get to her as he was worried about why she was stressing. He took the stairs two at a time and was surprised when the door opened for him.

Meredith stood with the door open, he moved towards her to pull her in for a hug, but was met with a punch in the arm.

"You were supposed to call." She yelled at him as she punched again. "You were supposed to call." She said again, as she moved to hit him again.

"Meredith" he said softly, giving her his mcdreamy trade mark look.

"Seriously" Meredith yelled as she went to hit him again. She seemed to be angry, he noted as she continued to hit him, chanting seriously in her frustration.

"Meredith" he finally yelled over the top of her, his arms wrapping around her stopping her from hitting him.

"What" she yelled, trying to fight his hold.

"Oh, i didn't really think past that." He said as he loosened his grip.

"Seriously" she yelled as she tried to hit him again.

Derek quickly wrapped his arms around her and stopped her assault. "Enough" he said as he waited for her to relax in his arms. "I should have called, i know that, but your father let me leave early and in my excitement i forgot to call."

The excuse was not good enough, but Meredith decided to let it go. She just really wanted to get her mother and his mother off of her back. And finalise the main details about their wedding.


	17. Chapter 17

Elizabeth and Ellis had watched the scene from the kitchen, not at all surprised by Merediths outburst, after all both had been watching how worried she had become on not receiving a phone call from Derek. Ellis could tell that Meredith just wanted to get key details sorted while Elizabeth believed that she was completely worried about her sons well being, neither would have guessed that it was a combination of both and a little bit more. What they didn't know was that the baby had been moving, and while it was only a "bubble" like effect, that she knew he couldn't feel, she wished that he was there to experience. Also add to the fact that she was on the verge of killing Elizabeth out of sheer frustration with the woman who had persisted with the line of altars, and outside heaters, and maybe it should be in a hall, and they really should add uncle harry to the list.... it just seemed to be going on and on and on.

"I'm sorry" they heard Derek say as he moved to press a kiss on Merediths forehead.

They then watched as his arms loosened their hold of her and how he reached for her hand, the other just resting on her stomach.

"I've been feeling bubbles." She whispered in his ear, and caught the smile that spread across his face.

"Snap, crackle and pop." He said, thinking about the rice bubbles add.

"More like a little pop." She told him knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"Poppy?" he asked, liking the idea of giving their little one a nickname, it made things more appealing than calling the baby "it", which was the name of a horror movie he had been traumatised by watching it with his sisters.

Meredith scrunched up her face, not sure whether it sounded right to call their baby "Poppy". "I guess its better than crackles." She jokes before leaning in to kiss him.

"Umm mothers here." Elizabeth interrupts, breaking what had been leading to a very passionate kiss.

Meredith and Derek pull apart, Derek looking straight at his mother with a frown. "Do you mind, im sharing a moment with my fiancé here." He says smartly before giving her another kiss.

"Well while you are doing that can you at least consider the fact that we are trying to plan your wedding here, and you were so rude as not to call and relay vital information to your fiancé" Elizabeth said somewhat sternly.

"Look Ma, can you just give us a moment? Go back into the kitchen and we will join you both soon. Right now im sharing something with my fiancé." He said looking at her slightly smugly.

They both heard Elizabeth let out a great big huff before leaving the room Ellis following close behind her.

"Thanks" Meredith murmured as she leaned into him, their mouths brushing in a soft kiss.

shine on............. shine on ............... shine on ................

Not even half an hour later, Derek was wishing to be back out in the hallway, just having gotten home with Meredith assaulting home again because that moment and the moments that had followed were a lot more refreshing and ideal than the discussion carrying on in front of him; it was very much a one sided discussion though, with his mother being the main talker.

He had watched as Meredith cringe at the mention of bridesmaid and wedding gowns, and even worse was the thought of the penguin suit caterers and the halls that his mother was suggesting, not to mention the additions she was making to Merediths list of guests, she seemed happy to add anybody she thought she could impress with her sons marriage, although there was nothing impressive about a pregnant bride, even if it was his pregnant bride.

"Stop." He finally said, taking the list from in front of his mother and screwing it up. "All of this needs to stop because at the rate you are pushing, there won't even be a wedding."

"Derek" Elizabeth warned and Ellis smirked knowing that he was going to put his mother in her place, which was something he didn't do often if she could remember the stories he had shared with her.

"Meredith is going to be a pregnant bride. A very pregnant bride." He said as he reached for her hand aiming to show her that he was going somewhere good with this and wasn't looking to offend her.

"She will be my beautiful pregnant bride, who shouldn't have to marry me dressed in some massive gown that will make her look 5 times bigger than she already will be, not to mention the fact its not what she wants." He said sternly.

"Mom Meredith isn't the kind of girl you take home to meet your family, but she did it for me because she loved me, and it turned out that the girls loved her too, so did you." He noted as he watched his mother open her mouth to protest. "As much as we both love you and appreciate everything that you have done for us, i don't think that you can see that Meredith and I, we just want this to be a small private wedding. We don't do flashy. The girls, yes, but Meredith no, and if you were even looking at her right now you could see that. She is cringing at nearly every suggestion you are making, so why don't you back off and let her speak about what she wants."

Elizabeth looked completely dumbfounded by her sons outburst and turned to look to Meredith for any indication of what might be wanted.

"The house wont be finished." Meredith started.

"We know that dear." Elizabeth quickly reminded.

"I know you know." Meredith sighed as she bit her bottom lip trying to think of how to explain what she wanted. "I was thinking, maybe ummm.... maybe we could have it at my dads house... its big enough." She stated.

Elizabeth then looked to Ellis who gave a nod, it was clear that Ellis was obviously impressed with the idea.

"We could... on Christmas i was thinking.... and maybe we could celebrate it there." Meredith added.

"Killing two birds with one stone" Derek said as he gave Merediths hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Yeah" Meredith said as she gave a nod. "Family is all we need. We could get a caterer for Christmas dinner, organise a justice of the peace. Its small, family based, and easy"

Elizabeth looked to comment before Ellis cut her off.

"The bride has spoken." Ellis told her. "It sounds nice, simple, and easy on the heart."

"Exactly." Derek said with a smile as he leaned over and gave Meredith a kiss, he was pleased that he had spoken up. He could see that Meredith had relaxed after getting her idea out. He knew she wasn't a big and flashy person, and quite frankly neither was he. All he wanted was to marry Meredith, he would have been quite content with city hall. A wedding at Christmas was 10 times better, especially when Christmas was always his favourite time of the year.

"I love you." He whispered as his lips brushed over hers.

"Thanks" she murmured as she kissed him again quite relieved that he had been there for her and stood up to his mother for her.


	18. Chapter 18

It had taken a week for Meredith to finalise all of her wedding arrangements. That included invitations being sent, her uncle Bailey being organised to run the small family ceremony. She had also managed to locate caterers to cook the big family dinner and ordered a christma tree with decorations for both her house and her fathers. Of course they werent going to be delivered until the start of december.

Decorations had been accumulated and somewehre in there she had also managed to organise a small thanks giving dinner too.

Elizabeth had looked to help a few times, but had been shot down by Meredith who insisted that she had it covered.

Also during that week Izzie and George had begun the process of moving out, which hadnt really surprised Meredith who had notcied their increasing absence. She had heard from Alex that they had transferred onto his contract and in turn, he had made it clear that he and Christina would be moving into her house. As it was that Meredith and Derek would be moving into their place by the end of January if work stayed on schedule.

The following week saw Meredith return to work on a very restricted schedule. She hadted it of couse but knew that it was for the best. Mind you it was made worse by the fact that everyone hovered.

Mark had been requesting her, as had Addie who had been demaded by Mark to ask, especially if he couldnt look after his little sister. Than she had Derek who was a large part of the equation. He had been requesting her, and hovering over her when he spotted her around the place. She had begun to feel like a tug-of-war rope.

Bailey had told them all to shove off, in more professional terms of course, but even with them only popping in every now and then, or just being allocated to one of their particular surgeries, usually a slow steady one, she still had to worry about Alex floating in to check on her and her father - who had become very much like an over sized shadow - constantly tailing her around the hospital.

Insanity had crept in by the end of the week, and there had been a lot of yelling as a consequence. She had managed to page them all to an empty room under the premise of a 911, where she had then proceeded to let rip at all 5 of them for hovering and fighting over her and following her around, distracting her from her work. Of course she should have thought twice about her display as her chest had begun to hurt towards the end of it and she had to make a quick exit to get her meds. Bailey had obviously caught her out, but promised not to dob on her as she knew that Meredith had needed to do that.

What Meredith didnt know, was that Bailey, on leaving her, made quick to head back to the room where the others were and blocked the door capturing all 5 of them before going on a rampage of her own. She had yelled about their unprofessionalism, about how stressed Meredith was becoming and how Meredith was not something to be fought over.

Elizabeth had left that week after ordering Meredith to keep her informed of the progess of the wedding, leaving Meredith that little bit more relieved by the news as she looked forward to having Derek to herself - or well most of the time, and knowing that even if Alex and Christina were home in the house, that they could at least escape to the trailer if they had wanted.

Now as Meredith laid curled up on the couch, her mother sat across from her with Richie. It seemed as though things were improving on the family front. She no longer snapped at her mother, and instead was gradually discussing different events from her diaries.

While doing that, Meredith rested, pillow between her legs, and a hand settled on her stomach as the baby seemed to be doing somersaults.

"Meredith" her mother sounded, and she looked up and over at her, her eyes skimming over her.

"hmmm" she sounded to encourage her to continue.

"Im sorry." her mother said as she put her diary down. "im sorry for all that you went through. im sorry i wasnt there... for you... and your brothers... its just..." she trailed off.

"you were scared..." meredith said softly. "i get it... i dont like it... but i get it."

"yeah" Ellis sounded looking at her daughter with uncertainty.

"your here now." Meredith said as she looked to Richie. "Lets just focus on that now."


	19. Chapter 19

Time seemed to be flying by. Thanks giving came quickly and it had surprised Meredith how natural it had felt having her whole family with her. Her mother had sat at one end of the table, her father at the other, both smiling at something that had obviously come to pass between them.

Richie had taken up the poll position next to their mother, and it was obvious that he was still a little put off by their father, which was something Meredith had hoped would have faded.

Next to him sat Christina, her hand nestled tightly in Alex's, who was beside her. They had come along way in the last few months, and Meredith wasn't too sure whether she should be surprised by the couple that she was now living with, or worried about the future events, after all, it was her best friend and her twin.

Beside Alex sat Mark, whose eyes were concentrated on Addies who sat directly across from him.

Addie had ballooned just recently, proving that having Marks baby was going to be a challenge. However, she had to admit that it wasn't at all helped by the large amounts of chocolate that Addison was eating. She was pretty sure she had put on roughly 10kgs of baby and another 10kgs of food.

Meredith sat beside her sister in law, not at all surprised by the fact that her stomach still looked quite small in comparison. Her diet had been strict since the surgery, Derek only occasionally letting her break it, even if it was slight, as he understood that there were just some cravings that needed to be met. Any one that looked between Meredith and Addie would think that Addie was due first, however, Meredith knew that she had a month on Addie, not that she was going to tell anyone that.

Derek sat beside Meredith, his arm sitting comfortably across the back of her chair. His hand rubbing her shoulder as if to calm her, not that she needed to be calm as it was quite relaxing just enjoying the food in front of them.

Grace had been said by Derek, who had offered, even if her family wasn't really religious anymore and yet it seemed to bring a relative calmness over the group.

The food had been dished up, and a quiet surrounded the table as they ate. Meredith having been restricted to mostly vegetables with the slices of turkey, the skin having been removed by Derek and a slither of gravy to accompany it. The rest of them had large piles of food on their plates, Christina and Addie seemingly competing to have the largest pile of food.  
It wasn't until everyone had eaten half of their plate of food that they began to show an interest in the people surrounding them.

"The wedding details are finalised." Derek spoke up proudly, squeezing Merediths shoulder. "And now all Mer needs to do is find the outfit that she feels comfortable in."

"I wont be doing that just yet?" Meredith filled in as she looked from her food. "I've popped and now... now im swelling." She told everyone, before scooping up some more cauliflower, her eyes scrunching up at the thought of eating it.

Derek chuckled before dropping a kiss on her temple, the others rolling their eyes at the cuteness.

"Your going to make me hurl." Mark spoke up before receiving a sharp kick from Addie under the table.

His face tensed slightly before turning into a frown. "Owe." He said fixing her with a look.

"Your sister is in love, and happy. None of us have seen her glowing like this ever, so no smart arse comments." Addie said as she scooped up a large pile of mash potato and drove it into her mouth.

"Shovel it in honey." Mark said with a smirk, before looking over to Meredith's small plate.

Every one eyed him nervously, waiting with anticipation for the returned banter that they thought would come.

"I'd like to see you prepare your body to push a baby out of a whole that is definitely too small for a baby to come out of." Christina butted in instead, her eyes flaring with fire.

"And now i cant eat." Alex said as he looked at Christina who had already scooped up some meat onto her fork and was speedily moving it to her mouth.

"Can we not talk about childbirth at the dinner table." Ellis butted in as she looked to Richie who was sitting rather uncomfortable. "Besides you are all carrying only one child each, you have no idea what its like to birth 2."

"They are yet to experience one yet." Richard reminded her, as he pushed his food around on the plate. His appetite gone.

"So there's no alcohol. Why is there no alcohol?" Richie stated as he wanted to push his fathers buttons slightly.

"The girls are pregnant, they cant drink." Alex said as if it was the obvious thing.

"Yeah, but what about us." Richie asked.

"Its impolite to drink when they cant." Derek replied as he squeezed Merediths shoulders.

"Besides, Dad doesn't drink, so that would only leave you and our mother." Mark said looking between the two of them.

"Dad drinks." Richie said as innocently as possible.

"No he doesn't." Meredith said as she eyed her father carefully.

"It was once." Ellis diverted. "And it was allowed Richard." She said as she fixed her son with a stern look.

"Really?" Richie challenged as he glared down at his father.

"Dad doesn't drink." Alex said defensively.

"What would you know? He isn't even your real father." Richie bit back causing Alex and Mark to both begin to rise from their chairs.

"Enough" Richard boomed, fading out any raised voices. "Richard." He said as he looked to the person who was his full- blooded son. "They are my children, rightfully more mine then your mothers. I raised them as my own." He said as his voice grew stern. "You have no right to suggest anything different, and as for that night." He added as he looked at the others. "You have no right to judge me. You have no right to comment. It shouldn't have happened but it did. It shouldn't have happened, but your mother, she has forgiven me for it. So shut the hell up." He finished as he threw his serviette down on the table and stormed off, only Meredith and Derek knowing where they would find him.

A uneasy quiet surrounded the table as Christina and Addie worked hard to calm down Mark and Alex.

"You really shouldn't have done that." Ellis told Richie as she shook her head. "You had no right." She added.

"So what, im supposed to stay quiet and let them idolise him when he got drunk and tried to force himself on you." Richie said defensively.

"Enough" Meredith said through a raised voice, hating that he had killed her thanksgiving.

"Meredith." Derek said as he tried to calm her.

"There is a time when you will learn Richie that your father isn't the one in the wrong here. He stayed faithful for the whole 17 years that i was gone. You have no idea the mess i left behind when i walked out. You have no idea what its like to walk away from your family through fear, and not know whether one of your children is dead. You have no idea. So why don't you just shut up, because that night, when he did what he did. That's my fault, that's on me, because i was the one who left. I left and he stayed when he had no need to and i love him so much more for it. He raised another mans children as his own, footed the bills, and stayed faithful to me, loved me even in my absence. So no you have no right to speak ill of him, and yes what happened was a mistake but it was my mistake, and it was the least of what i deserved, so shut up and keep the hell out of it." She yelled as she wiped her mouth on her own serviette and stalked out of the room and towards her study which had seemingly left in one piece.

"I..." Richie started before Alex intercepted.

"Shut up." Alex snarled, "just shut up."

No one else spoke as they each raised from their seats and walked away leaving Richie there by himself.


	20. Chapter 20

What could be defined as d-day had arrived, and Derek had been surprised that the  
showdown between families hadn't been as massive as he originally thought.  
Somehow though, the 3 pregnant women managed to make the wedding and  
Christmas all about them even though only one of those pregnant women - Meredith,  
was getting married.

Now 7 months along – almost 8, Meredith's stomach was nicely rounded, and not  
exactly hide-able. She had been the one to find a place for everyone to stay – having  
booked out a whole floor of rooms at the Archfield and made sure that all his sisters  
had hire cars to do their own little family things.

The whole Webber house had everything decked out, they had Christmas stockings  
up, mistle toe and even a stack of presents under the grand Christmas tree which  
had filled an entire area of the house.

She had planned the area in front of the fire place for the position for them to  
exchange their vows as well as finding a grand eating area to accommodate their  
entire family.

Presents had been opened, exchanged on separate occasions, the first part of the  
morning spent with the Shepherd clan, where his 9 nieces and 5 nephews opened up  
present after present whilst the rest of the family bit back yawns and sucked down  
coffee... all except Meredith who was steadily drinking her lemon tea, which not only  
heated her up but gave her the bite to keep her awake.

At her father's house, she had been more than happy to snuggle into him, both their  
hands resting comfortably on her stomach as their little treasure – their little boy –  
kicked playfully as he occasionally attempted to turn inside of her.

It was there that they had seen Richard spoil Richie with a range of music equipment,  
and a new car, something that the other three had received at varying stages of  
their teen life; although nothing quite like the mini that he had received. Meredith had  
taken the time to tell him of the Merc Alex had received when he had finished senior  
year ranked number 2 in all his subjects, and the BMW roadster that Mark had  
received when he had told their father he had been accepted into Med school. She  
had then blushed severely when she had then informed him that the classic 1963 Jag  
convertible she had received was still in mint condition in his garage as she had  
refused to drive it, not wanting to get it scratched. He had tried to keep a straight  
face when she had told him, of course she didn't tell him why she had received it, but  
could only imagine a few of the reasons.

He had demanded after that to be taken to see it. The red machine looked  
magnificent when she dragged the cover off of it. He couldn't help but drool over the  
beautiful piece of machinery, or contemplate how anyone could not want to drive it.

The discussion about cars had faded once the two families came together, with the  
entire groups being spread out between the family room, living room and kitchen.

Meredith had disappeared upstairs to get ready for the wedding, having told him that  
she had kept her simple wedding outfit up in her old room, while he had to go get his  
selected tux out of the back of the car where it had been left hanging.

That had been almost an hour ago...

And now, as he stood in front of the fireplace, Baileys father standing directly beside  
him as the rest of the family remained in their seats, he couldn't help but wonder  
how they had managed to get to this place? A place where he had the world as his  
oyster, the place where his future wife was pregnant with his beautiful baby boy?  
The beautiful baby boy whom he couldn't wait to hold...

His mind wanders off slightly and it isn't until Meredith comes into view as she makes  
her way down the stair case that he returns to reality. He could definitely say that he  
was gob smacked by the view. A view that was so breathtaking that he really wanted  
to pinch himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming

The Lavender dress was full lengthed and maximised her chest slightly without  
actually exposing them, and the flow moved sweetly around her gorgeous stomach.

He could see her look shyly around the room as Richard met her at the base of the  
stairs and lead her to him. It wasn't the official walk, and they didn't need music, or  
for her to be given away.

He noted as she reached him that his family necklace was resting nicely around her  
neck, and he smiled with pride at the knowledge that she had obviously been  
approached by his mother and sisters and asked to wear it. It was an obvious sign of  
her acceptance into their family, and he couldn't have been happier.

His arm slipped around her waist as he kissed her cheek lightly. His free hand moving  
to rest on her stomach as they turned to face her uncle.

Their vows had been short and sweet; a confession of love and a promise of forever.  
They hadn't needed much more than that. It was short, simple and everything they  
had both wanted it to be.

With his ring now nestled on her finger, and hers on his they kissed gently at first  
before deepening it slightly. His hand threaded through her hair, that covered her  
gentle neck.

The family clapped before a few comments were thrown there way. Pulling back,  
Derek rested his head against hers, whispering softly an "i love you".

Once Meredith's uncle stepped back and out of the way, both Derek and Meredith  
turned to smile at their families. Both knew that there life as a married couple may  
have just begun, and neither of them could wait for the new start awaiting them.

"We're taking the Jag as our ride home tonight." She whispered to him as her hand  
drifted up to play with the hair at the back of his neck. "You're driving though." She  
adds as she then cuddles in close as their family moves to surround them with their  
congratulations and well wishes.

.................... shine on .................... shine on ........................ shine on. ...............


	21. Chapter 21

The night had been peaceful, just as the others that had followed since their wedding.  
They had eventually moved into their dream house on his land. Which at the time,  
Meredith couldn't have been more thrilled about as her best friends hormones  
definitely were worse than her own, and were causing high emotions in each of their  
exchanges.

Maternity leave had been held off at the begging and pleading of Meredith, but only  
under agreement that Meredith would be monitored closely. This of course had made  
her as frustrated as she had been when she had first returned from her heart  
surgery but she had known that they had her best interest at heart.

Tonight though, she had been wishing she was still at work as she heard of the most  
recent surgery that her husband had performed. The Desmoplastic Infantile  
Ganglioglioma that he had found within the 6 month old baby had been surprising to  
say the least, and she had hated hearing all the details on the extraction when she  
wished that she could have been there to witness the removal.

He had shown her pictures that had only made her feel uneasy, especially making  
her stomach twist as she moved to get into a much easier position. Her back had  
been hurting her all day, and it seemed to be tweaking a little bit more as the day  
had passed. She knew that they were contractions. She knew that she should be  
telling Derek, but she wanted to hear about whether the baby girl had survived.

"It was like nothing i have ever seen before." Derek told her as he shifted to  
accommodate Merediths new position. He had noticed over the past hour of talking  
that she had winced slightly every 5 minutes, and she had told him earlier that her  
back was hurting, and her chest was feeling a little tight.

"So?" Meredith asked as she curled as close to him as she could, her body aching.

She felt Dereks eyes on hers as a moistness ran down his leg, and his concerns  
about Meredith being in labour, or going into labour had been confirmed.

He moved quickly out of the bed, and Meredith just stayed with her eyes on him.

"So?" she asked again.

"Mer get up, the baby is coming... hospital now." He had said quickly as he grabbed  
down the bag that they had packed together.

He pulled his phone off of the dresser as he began to dial the number for his father in  
law – who had organised for the hospital helicopter to be on hold for when Meredith  
went into labour. It seemed that he had anticipated his daughters stubbornness, and  
Derek knew that there was no way he would be able to get her to the hospital in time  
if they drove.

Once verifying that the chopper was on its way, he turned to look at his wife. "Lets  
go." He told her as he then moved to be at her side, helping her off of the bed.

"What happened to the little girl?" She asked stubbornly, and he rolled his eyes as he  
helped her up.

"I managed to save her life. Now get your arse down those stairs so we can wait for  
the chopper. After all this is done, and we have our beautiful son in our hands, then i  
will give you my notes on the case to read over and i will answer every question you  
have. Lets just do this first." He told her as he pressed a kiss to her forehead. He  
knew that she was stubborn, and that after their son was born she really wouldn't be  
up to reading the notes on the case, not right away anyway. He just hoped that  
everything to do with the birth went off without a hitch. They didn't need any  
complications, and he hated worrying about the fact that something might happen as  
it was.

"Lets go meet our baby boy." He said again as he helped her down the stairs and to  
the front door where they then sat waiting for the chopper.

............................... shine on........... shine on

Gypsy Rose Shepherd was born at 8:55pm just half an hour after arriving at the  
hospital. She was tiny, to say the least, and was a complete picture of health. Her  
little cheeks had been flushed when she came out, and the faintest cry could be  
heard. Of course, both Meredith and Derek had been completely shocked when  
Addison had congratulated them on their baby girl, and had looked at them  
innocently, especially when she had informed them that sometimes obstetricians  
were wrong, and obviously that this was one of those cases.

Derek had no idea what to do with all the baby boy blue things he had brought with  
him to the hospital. But he knew that there was no way he was going to give his  
precious little girl anything blue.

Thankfully though, Richard and Ellis managed to be somewhat prepared.

On hearing the news of their surprise granddaughter, they had happily gone shopping  
to acquire the new things needed.

Alex and Mark had been helpful, as they had then brought in swatches of paint  
colours so that the nursery could be repainted, and promised to have it done soon

Of course his own family had been highly amused, all quite happy to point out that  
there was no way possible that he would break the shepherd curse, and he would be  
stuck with a family of girls just like his father.

Now though, the thoughts of his family and hers, or theirs with the holistic family ideal  
in mind, where far from his thoughts as he snuggled up with Meredith on her hospital  
bed. Their little girl was laying comfortably on his chest asleep. He didn't want to let  
her go, and neither had Meredith.

They had both been content with the shortage of visitors, as they were all either now  
working, or out acquiring new things for their little addition.

Meredith smiled as she snuggled a little closer to Derek, her body still feeling sore  
from giving birth.

"She's beautiful." Meredith whispers, scared to speak too loudly in case she wakes  
her little girl.

Her finger reaches up to run gently over small amount of brown hair

"she is." Derek agrees as he turns his head slightly to kiss his wife.

"our little gypsy girl." Meredith adds as she continues to look over her little girls  
features dazzled by the fact that they had made something so perfect, let alone the  
fact that everything had come together so well.

"I love you." Derek whispered as he thought back over the past year, and how far they had come.

"Mmmm you too." Meredith murmured as she falls asleep leaving Derek to just enjoy holding his two sleeping girls.

_ I was lost in darkness and sinking sand  
Well I was barely nothing, a broken man  
But you picked up the pieces of my heart in your hand  
Then you came and showed to me love's second chance_

Shine on, shine on, shine on me  
Whenever something's missing  
You're exactly what I need  
Your love has shown me the light and now I finally see  
So shine on, shine on, shine on me, yeah  


** so thats it ...thanks for reading guys... i know there is so much more i can write  
here but i have been struggling with this fic from the day i started writing the sequel.  
I thought this was as good a place as any to end this with Derek getting the baby girl  
he wasn't expecting, and having a happy content Meredith in his arms. **


End file.
